ACTION Apartment Association

Power to the people of Santa Monica [SMa.r.t.]

07/24/2016 9:54 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Note: The SMa.r.t. guest author this week is longtime Santa Monica resident Richard Orton. He is concerned about the direction our beach town is taking and has been actively engaged in our community for decades.

For generations, Santa Monicans have asked city leaders to moderate the greed of developers. No matter who is elected, city council, and city staff, always seem to side with developer interests. Huge projects in the pipeline for approval paint an even bleaker future for our city. We need to stop it.

City Council acts on tax increase, Oaks Initiative

07/24/2016 9:48 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The Santa Monica City Council at its July 12 meeting voted to place a tax increase initiative on the November ballot. The council also approved a concept design for modernization of City Yards and finalized a revision of the ethics initiative that will be placed on the ballot.

Former Santa Monica Mayor Faces Eviction

07/22/2016 7:11 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

July 22, 2016 -- The long-standing feud between former Santa Monica mayor Mike Feinstein and his landlords has taken a new turn that could conclude with Feinstein being evicted from the rent-controlled, four-bedroom house where he has lived for more than 30 years.

Phil Brock vying for seat on SMMUSD board

07/21/2016 7:04 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Phil Brock is running for a seat on the Santa Monica-Malibu Board of Education despite years of expectations that he would mount a second campaign for City Council.

Incumbents Outnumber Challengers in Santa Monica Board Races

07/20/2016 8:13 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The race for two seats on the Santa Monica Rent Control Board has so far drawn two potential candidates. Incumbent Anastasia Roark Foster, a 10-year resident of Santa Monica who was appointed to the five-member Board in February, pulled papers on Monday ("Santa Monica Rent Board Picks New Commissioner," February 12, 2016).

Also on Monday, Realtor and landlord Elaine Golden-Gealer, who is a vocal critic of the Board, was the only potential challenger to pull papers.

Three Proposed High-Rises Among Major Santa Monica Projects Awaiting Fate of LUVE

07/19/2016 2:48 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

July 19, 2016 -- A trio of five-story apartment buildings proposed for the high-rise remake of part of Santa Monica’s Lincoln Boulevard inched through the City’s clogged development pipeline toward eventual approval Monday.

But no matter what City Hall decides, it could make little difference if Santa Monica voters approve the Land Use Voters Empowerment initiative, or LUVE, placed on the November 8 ballot by slow-growth advocates.

Co-Author of LUVE Initiative Among Potential Candidates Vying for City Council

07/19/2016 2:01 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

July 19, 2016 – Armen Melkonians, who co-authored a slow-growth measure on the November ballot, was one of ten individuals who pulled papers for City Council on Monday, the first day applications were made available by the City Clerk.

AIRBNB and City of Los Angeles Strike Tax Deal

07/19/2016 1:58 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Airbnb will soon begin collecting a 14% tourist tax for the City of Los Angeles. The deal, announced on July 18, is expected to provide more than $5 million in annual revenue from lodging and rental hosts.

...Out of the Drought, But Santa Monica Says "No Way."

07/18/2016 1:26 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The rest of California has declared "Drought Over," and put aside it's penalties and emergency measures. Not so the City of Low Flush Toilets. They like to tax and they like to spend, so like leftists everywhere, City Hall is maintaining controls.

Lookin’ for LUVE in Santa Monica [Bill Bauer]

07/18/2016 8:19 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Residocracy hosted its kick-off meeting at the Santa Monica library a week ago Sunday. The purpose of the meeting was to organize various committees to work on Residocracy’s Land Use Voter Empowerment (LUVE) ballot measure campaign.

LUVE, if approved in the Nov. 6 election, would amend the city’s Land Use and Circulation Element (LUCE) and zoning ordinance to require voter approval of certain types of new development projects.